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Monday, February 27, 2017

From the Editor's DeskAs smartphones have proliferated, so have the kinds of people obsessed with them, from car-makers to media chieftains. Every year, they gather at Mobile World Congress, an annual extravaganza that brings together telecom companies, internet giants, handset makers and everyone in between to talk mobile computing for four days in Barcelona. The 2016 edition attracted over 100,000 visitors, the most in its 30-year history. This year in Barcelona, the theme is "The Next Element." With 5G still years away, MWC's participants are trying to come up with something-anything--that could be the next element in the smartphone's evolution. That includes trying to turn cars into smartphones (connected cars), packing home appliances with sensors and radios (the Internet of Things), and strapping phones onto various limbs (wearables). Here are some of the themes and products that will likely emerge from this year's gathering, which runs from Feb 27 to Mar 2.

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The $40 billion questionMuch like the e-commerce market places and the cab aggregators, Reliance Jio’s early success can be attributed to pricing—or the lack of it, since the company currently charges nothing

Bottled water: Clamp down on 'dual' MRP firmsMore than six states have cracked down on water bottling companies that charge a higher MRP for their products in certain spaces like malls, airports and hotels. Consumer affairs ministry sources said states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra, UP and MP have issued challans against erring companies.

IFC to lend to Indian agri-processing arm of StanChart PE-backed firmInternational Finance Corporation is planning to make a debt investment of $30 million (nearly Rs 200 crore) in ETC Agro Processing (India) Pvt Ltd. ETC Agro, the Indian subsidiary of Mauritius-based ETC Group, will use the capital to set up a new pulses processing facility, the World Bank’s private-sector arm said in a disclosure. The company processes and trades pulses, and also makes wheat flour and biscuits.

Silvan home automation products now onlineHome automation company Silvan Innovation Labs has tied up with Capricoast, an ecommerce website for home interior solutions, to offer its products to customers online.

How Flipkart got back in the gameSceptics had not long ago written off Flipkart but under Kalyan Krishnamurthy, it has clawed its way back and is now looking at a $1.5 billion fundraising

Nadella lays out vision to democratise tech in IndiaMumbai: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Wednesday laid out a vision of democratising access to advanced technology and said the emerging digital technologies had the power to significantly empower ordinary Indians, and small and medium businesses in the country.

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